1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to video surveillance systems and in particular, to viewing digital video streams from video surveillance cameras.
2. Description of Related Art
Video surveillance systems with cameras streaming standard and high-definition video over IP networks to digital recorders, video analytics systems, video management displays and other observing devices/systems are becoming commonplace in the market. Camera network systems can found in airports, on city streets, in transportation facilities, in public shopping malls, in retail establishment chains, and elsewhere. The features of such systems enhance protection of people, assets and property. Small, medium and large camera networks currently exist with multiple observers remotely located anywhere on locally connected or wide area networks.
In the typical existing video surveillance system, each observer selects which camera or cameras are to be viewed. For example, a human observer using a PC-based Video Management. System (VMS) manually selects one or more cameras from a table, list, or map. After suitably interacting with the VMS's graphical user interface, the human observer views the real-time video streams from the selected cameras.
For IP-cameras, HTTP-based streaming protocols are typically used, so that an observer who enters the proper URL can view the real-time video stream in a browser client. For example, an observer can enter the URL manually, or after receiving the URL within a text message or an email triggered by an alarm condition. However, the observer must connect directly to the URL, and therefore must have knowledge of the URL to access the video stream.
In many scenarios, it is impossible or impractical for a human observer to manually select cameras to be viewed. For example, consider a situation when a police officer is driving a police ear to the scene of an emergency that has video surveillance cameras deployed. Although it would be extremely useful for the officer to view real-time video from one or more surveillance cameras while travelling to the emergency scene, manual interaction with the PC screen by the officer while driving at potentially high-speeds is dangerous. Furthermore, the officer typically does not know which camera or cameras would be most appropriately selected for viewing. This information may better be known by the dispatcher in the city's central emergency network operating center, who may have access to a video wall showing many/all cameras, as well as to other resources and assets. Although such a third-party dispatcher may be in the best position to select which video streams should be pushed/routed to the officer, there is currently no mechanism for allowing a third party to select a video stream.
Therefore, what is needed is a surveillance video router capable of routing IP-based digital video streams to observers and controllable by a third party to route the appropriate digital video streams to observers.